RealtyTech Inc, a Thousand Oaks, CA corporation is happy to offer a full-featured Agent Blog for all their Agent Website Clients. Both current and future Clients will receive this feature. “Blogs are a powerful marketing and exposure tool for agents. An active blog can rank well on the search engines and be shared on all social media for even greater exposure,” said Richard Uzelac, President of RealtyTech Inc. “In addition, blogging good content that can help buyers and sellers in an agent’s local market will help to build their relationships with site visitors.” The new RealtyTech Blog platform is simple to use. Agents can start a new blog post by quickly logging into their backend. Once logged in, they can go to the Blog Post Creation page. Most agents create their post in Word or other text editor program. They can then click on Create a Post and cut and paste their article in to the Blog text box. Next, the agent can add an image from their hard drive or imbed a video from YouTube as well. Next it is a good idea for agents to assign provided categories to the blog post so that visitors know what the blog is about, and they can search all posts faster that are tagged with certain categories they are interested in. The final step is to publish the post, that’s it! Once published agents can share their blog on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. RealtyTech will be publishing short videos to teach each Client how to fully utilize the powerful new Blog platform on the Agent123 Website. [caption id="attachment_8684" align="aligncenter" width="967"] business and education concept - indoor picture of smiling woman with documents and pen[/caption] RealtyTech provides Real Estate services and software for real estate agents and offices. Since 2002, RealtyTech Inc. has created premium products such as the Premium Agent123 Website Platform, and ApexIDX MLS Search system. Custom website design and development are also offered. In addition, RealtyTech offers premium services such as Internet Marketing, Google advertising, Facebook Advertising, Content Creation, Domain Services, Emails, and more. Contact RealtyTech Inc. at 805-413-7888 www.RealtyTech.com Richard@RealtyTech.com

Rule#1: The bigger the area and population of an area = The harder it will be to rank for that area. Look at these search terms and the number of results for each one below. I just did these searches from Thousand Oaks California yesterday: Look at these search terms and the number of results for each one below: ‘Real Estate’: 1,250,000,000, Over ONE BILLION Results! Do you think you can get on the first few pages of that search: Yes, it would take years or many $$$ to rank for that term. ‘California Real Estate’: This result is 115,000,000, One Hundred-Fifteen MILLION, one tenth the result as above, but still a difficult task to rank. ‘Thousand Oaks Real Estate’: 1,010,000. Down to One Million Results. Much less competition but still going to take time and money to get there, but it is doable. Thousand Oaks has over 130,000 inhabitants, and yes, size of area and population does matter on how difficult it takes to rank highly on Google. ‘Mountclef Village Thousand Oaks CA’: Just 12,400 Results! You can win!  Now we have a strong chance to rank. Think you could rank highly for this area? Absolutely!  Now let’s see how and why! You can win this one! Now let’s see how and why...and the 3 Steps now

It always pays to brand yourself as a professional. Buyers and Sellers all want to work with a professional, not an amateur. You can make a great first impression by having a unified image or brand across all your marketing and advertising. Here’s how:

1. Website Domain Name

The first domain name you should always own is SallySmith.com, that is, your actual name. In many ways your name IS your brand in real estate. If your actual name is not available, try using something like Sally4Homes.com or SallySellsEncino.com. If you market exclusively to one market area try to get a name with the market area stated, such as: EncinoProperties.com

Remember those L’Oreal commercials that had a pretty actress that would say, “Don’t hate me because I’m Beautiful.” And then lots of slow motion video of her hair looking great? Well, this post has NOTHING to do with that. I only ask, “Don’t hate me if I speak the truth about being a successful real estate agent.” Now you can go to one of our $1,000 seminars and learn the technology of real estate, the tools of real estate, how to utilize a website and IDX to make MONEY and all of that. But the bottom line for success in real estate is something that only about 20% of agents ever seem to fully understand. The top 10 to 20% of agents have all quietly figured this out and they simply do it with little or no fanfare. Maybe that is why this group generates 80 to 90% of the revenue in real estate.

So what do they know and do that most don’t?

The Answer: The top agents simply do that which other agents won’t do. They do that which is hard and uncomfortable. They are willing to sacrifice the little things to put off instant gratification to earn a result that they desire. They commit to hard work, plain and simple. There are no real shortcuts.

91% of home buyers said school boundaries were important when searching for homes.

One out of five home buyers would pay six to 10 percent above their budget for the right school.

One out of 10 home buyers would go so far as to pay up to 20 percent more than what their budget afforded.

Let this sink in for a second.

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These are understandable statistics when you consider that children who don’t graduate high school can expect an average annual income of $20,000. Another factor to consider is how crime rate and the quality of the school system go hand-in-hand. Both of these have a huge impact on a home’s value. People aren't just buying a home, they're buying a future for their children.Buyers want to maximize their investment as much as possible and investing in their children’s future is a huge part of that investment.

Communication is an incredibly important aspect of any type of business.

When it comes to a sales heavy position such as real estate, this component will take on an extra important role. If you currently find yourself wondering what the top 4 things real estate agents needs to build their business are, then you should definitely look at aspects of communication first and foremost. Real estate agents need to build their business through communication if they hope to find success in their chosen career. Luckily, you can check out this handy guide to get a handle on all aspects of communication!

1. Real Estate Agents Should Be Personable in E-Mail to Build Their Business

When thinking about things real estate agents need to build their business, you might not immediately think about e-mailing. However this is an incredibly crucial aspect of the work. By being good at writing engaging, entertaining, and informative e-mails, an agent will have a much better chance of reeling in fresh business and keeping older clients interested in the work that they are doing. Stiff and boring marketing copy will get you nowhere. If you offer something entertaining, then potential clients will be interested in what you have to offer, come back for more, and will more than likely be open to hearing about business oriented topics down the line.

Be honest with me…

Is your real estate website stuck in the early 2000s?  How dated does your site look and feel?  Does the page format correctly on a phone?  Can people find you with a quick Google search? Simply having a web presence in 2016 is not enough – you have to engage your visitors, providing them with detail and clarity, in the interest of shaping a conversation that drives the colossal decision to buy or sell.  You’re a real estate agent, not a web developer, so how do you cut through the noise and make your site work for you?  Let RealtyTech share some secrets with you…

Content is King

Want a strong online presence? Then you need content.  Pictures, videos, blog features, galleries, interactive maps – all absolutely imperative to flesh out your site, improving your organic rank on search engines.    Feature your breath-taking exteriors and stunning interiors; flaunt the type of properties you are proud to represent.  Consumers would rather see the quality of your brand instead of reading verbose descriptions…so here’s your chance to visually humble brag as an agent.

Videos

A visitor to your website is more likely to watch a video than to read your content. This video can be linked back to your YouTube Channel as well. You will even get higher rankings for your website from the owner of YouTube: Google! Add a video to your website!

Polygon IDX Search Links

The saved search links on your website should be specialized to reflect your EXACT territory. Custom links for specific neighborhoods are a must in many markets! This can convey that you are truly the expert in their neighborhood! They can also be used to layout exact school district boundaries, a great tool for perspective families looking for the right home in a specific school district.

Your Marketing Plan

You have a marketing plan for Sellers, right? Why not be one of the less than 5% of agents that take the time to describe how they will market their Client's homes? It imbues a heightened sense of commitment and professionalism.

In this article we will go over the basics to win market share by targeting a specific geo-targeted market!

You Will Need the Followings:

A ‘Customized’Agent Website

Yes, you must actually open up your website and edit it. It needs to be able to accept standard Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. It’s OK; we’ll get through this together.

Creating geo targeted pages is one of the most important updates you can make to your website. A geo targeted page goes into detail about a geographical area, this could be a valley, city, zip code, tract or a neighborhood. For optimization purposes you want to write original content that is useful, knowledgeable and educational to your clients who are interested in finding a home in the specific area.

Meta Tags

The second step is to update your meta tags (keywords, titles and description) with words and phrases that are relatable to the content that is on the page. If you are writing a page about Woodland Hills then you will want to have “Search Thousands of Woodland Hills Homes for Sale” or “Best Woodland Hills Real Estate Agent Sally Realtor for All Your Real Estate Needs.” or something similar to for the page title.

Content

To keep people on pages for longer you want to have something for people to see visually, this is best done by a few pictures or a short video of the neighborhood. Images will give your clients a better feel of what the area really looks like where as videos on average will increase the duration people spend on that page by 800%.

Leads

The only thing you are missing now is how to get them to become a lead, the best way to do this is to have a custom IDX link that they can use either at the bottom of the page or linked somewhere within the information. If you tell them about how wonderful this neighborhood is they are going to want to see the homes that are available within that area. With RealtyTech’s IDX123 you have the ability to create links to your exact specification, by either city, zip code, tract codes or drawing on a map with our polygon tool!

Due to the departure of CRMLS (California Regional Multiple Listing Service) from the CARETS data exchange group, VCRDS (Ventura County Data Services) no longer has access to CRMLS listings. Conversely, CRMLS no longer has access to VCRDS listings.   Both VCRDS and CRMLS will continue to share listing data with SRAR’s CRISNet MLS, the iTech MLS and The MLS/CLAW. What does this mean for Southern California Agent’s IDX solutions? What does it mean for RealtyTech IDX123clients? RealtyTech will continue to provide their clients an IDX with the maximum value possible while remaining in concordance with the recent updates to the data sharing policies. “Basically if you are a member of, say, Southland Regional Association of Realtors and subsequently a CRISNet Member, you will continue to have the old CARETS feed with all former CARETS members,” said RealtyTech CEO Richard Uzelac.   RealtyTech clients who are members of CRISNet, SRAR, or iTech will continue to have full access to listing data from all CARETS members as well as CRMLS. Clients who are members of CRMLS will no longer receive listing data from VCRDS but will continue to receive listing data from CRISNet, SRAR and iTech. Clients who are members of VCRDS will no longer receive listing data from CRMLS but will continue to receive listing data from all other CARETS members.   “Our clients who are going to benefit the most from how we are keeping our data are members of CRISNet and iTech,” said RealtyTech Senior Account Executive Lance Grove. “They will still be receiving CRMLS data which some providers will no longer support.”

New Google Rules for Real Estate Agent Website Ranking: Panda 4.0

Recently Google launched their latest rules for website ranking, this one called Panda 4.0. As with Panda algorithms in the past, Panda 4.0 relies on unique content as a major reason your website will rank well. With all else being equal, Agent websites with unique content do better than those that don’t have unique content. Panda 4.0 takes it further with an even greater emphasis on:

LOCALIZATION

What is localization? It is the process of making your website focus on a niche market: A neighborhood, Housing tract, or even a small town, or part of a larger town or city. Sites that generalize their expertise, such as tout they cover ‘All of Southern California’ will tend to be dropped lower in the search results, while sites that specialize in a smaller niche market or online farming area, if they contain unique content for that area, will do much better. The first step is to put a stake in the sand with your ‘farm’ or best area you know the most about and win there. Create unique content for your area; add multiple articles on the area, on its benefits, its schools, its lifestyle, and its real estate market. Do that and your site will start to perform well? Yes! So what is a Real Estate Agent or Real Estate Office to do it they have multiple areas of expertise? Do nothing? No. Start with the first real estate website, get results, then, and build more sites. That’s right, have multiple sites, each one concentrates on one of your key markets. At RealtyTech Inc. we have many agents doing just that. More than one of our Clients have over 5 sites with us, each designed to win in a niche market, and it is working.  Think about it, if you do the work yourself to update the sites, you are only paying between $39 and $59/month per site. If those targeted sites each bring in a, extra two deals per month, the return on your time and investment is awesome. The key here is to start today to localize your first site, make it have a purpose, see the results and take it from there.

Most people turn to the internet when looking for new homes in today’s real estate world. Real Estate Agents need to stay in the game with building their web presence.

Stay Current

From the National Association of Realtors, 96% of Americans are looking to buy their house on the internet. As realtors we need to understand the power of internet in generating the sales we need. The internet makes it easier for potential clients to find you and your properties. Having internet presence will allow all current and potential clients to get in touch with you and the information you have at anytime.

Investing in a simple facelift for your home is an extremely effective way to market your house for today’s buyers. Here are some tips to get you started Before you List As you arrange to sell your house, it is essential to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Think about what you would prefer to see in a home if you were on their side of the sale. Use websites like Pinterest.com and Goodhousekeeping.com for inspiration in your decorating efforts

1. DE-CLUTTER YOUR HOME

• assign everything to a neat little box
• put on a yard sale
• donate your unwanted or outdated items
• sell your extra goods on Craigslist or Ebay
• buy a storage spot
• tackle some curb appeal projects like trimming, mowing, clearing sidewalks, painting
• your home will appear bigger and brighter as you clear out all of the excess junk. Cleaning out will allow prospective buyers to see your home at its best.

After discussing the top 10 things not to do on your website last week, it is time to move onto these steps that will definitely give you a leg up on the competition. Most agents don’t put the time and effort into their website and therefore yield less than desirable results. By honing your skills and putting your focus here, you are going to make a better impression.

Things to do to create a successful website

1. Take Time for the Tagline

Think of creative taglines to make your site catchy but also relevant.

2. Use a Current Photo

One of the first things visitors look at when they visit your profile is your picture. Make sure it is an accurate representation of what you look like in order to give your customers an honest impression.